Need a router/wifi

[Texas Proud]

I have Xfinity... and I have their wifi Gateway...



Similar to this... mine might be an older version...


https://www.xfinity.com/learn/internet-service/modems-and-routers


I am not a big fan of this piece of equipment as it does cost me money... and it seems to not connect to items at times... my smart sprinkler system being the dropped one the most... my tablet every now and then...


So, would like to buy one of my own and replace it... but I need it to also do the phone as I have VOIP with them..


Recommendations?

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

I have Xfinity... and I have their wifi Gateway...



Similar to this... mine might be an older version...


https://www.xfinity.com/learn/internet-service/modems-and-routers


I am not a big fan of this piece of equipment as it does cost me money... and it seems to not connect to items at times... my smart sprinkler system being the dropped one the most... my tablet every now and then...


So, would like to buy one of my own and replace it... but I need it to also do the phone as I have VOIP with them..


Recommendations?

I have Xfinity at both my residences and use my own modems and routers, as I didn't want to rent them (cheaper in the long run to own).

I can't give advice on buying your own, since anything you buy will be outdated in a couple of years (at least according to Comcast). Comcast does provide a list of recommended (compatible/tested) devices.

Not what you're asking, but the one advantage to renting their equipment, is that you should be able to walk into any Comcast store and get free replacement devices which are guaranteed to be the latest recommended devices.

If you're renting, there's no reason to put up with devices with intermittent problems. If the new equipment has the same problem, then there's probably something else going on (and the problem would likely occur even if you bought your own devices).

 

[Texas Proud]

One of the problems is with the smart irrigation controller... it just does not connect to the wifi. I think it is because the wifi gets to pick what frequency to use and it requires 2.4....



But my tablet was getting connection errors this past week... eventually it connected but should not be doing this...


Yes, might be a good thing to swap it out and see...

 

[Sunset]

I have xfinity, and I have my own router and modem. I have 2 devices so that when I upgrade one, I don't have to upgrade the other.
You can change the router password and SSID to whatever you want, as xfinity doesn't know them since they come from/are part of the router.

xfinity has a list of compatible modems, so you can look at the list and be sure one is on it before buying.
Pretty much any router will be fine, best if you get one that does 2.4 AND 5 ghz at a minimum. That way you can put all your IOT devices on the 2.4 network, and use the 5 ghz network (different password) for your computing.

Once you have your modem, you just call xfinity support and tell them you have your modem and ask them what they need from you to switch to yours. I think it's just the mac address, but they will tell you. Then you just switch the devices and wait a few minutes. Best to talk to them over a cell phone or landline as you want to be able to talk when the switch happens and not get cut off in case there is an issue.
After you know it's all running, bring back their device so you can stop paying for it.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

Have you called and had them troubleshoot? My folks had issues and after a lot of calls (and already swapping out the router) it was found to be their equipment outside the home.


I currently rent mine from my provider. They've provided excellent service (both account and technical) and I have no issues with their equipment. I had bought my own modem/router (Netgear) and it would not work properly despite dealing with the manufacturer and my ISP (it was a giant headache with too much time on the phone). I had calculated the break even at about 2 years and decided renting is worth the lower hassle dealing with one entity and if it ever gets fried the ISP will replace it so I view the premium over owning as "insurance." I guess I do BTD once in a while. Haha

 

[retire48in2018]

As a piece of advice - many routers/mesh systems have 2 wifi logins. One is called “guest”, etc. Many of the newer ones, have auto selection for 2.4/5 on each wifi. I have found that this makes many devices/connections unstable.

I have made one of them 2.4 only, and the other 5 only. All of the smart home automation, etc was connected to the 2.4.

 

[Jimmie]

I had the same issue when I replaced my old sprinkler controller with a smart one and had a terrible time getting it to connect to the 2.4 SSID (new controller didn't see the 5 SSID). It was a distance issue from where it was mounted in the garage to the other side of the house where the router was located. Only way I got this resolved was to replace the tp-link router with two Eero mesh routers, placing the 2nd eero near the garage. I was shocked at how much better my WIFI range was with the Eero's. I was able to connect to my pixel to my WIFI 5 SSID network at the community mailbox 4 houses away from mine.

Some things consider:
buy your own cable modem (DOCSIS 3.1 compatible) and a separate router (WIFI 6/6E compatible)
turn off "auto-connect" on your router so you have to manually select to connect to either the 2.4 or 5 SSIDs on your devices
make sure you SSIDs are configured to use at least WPA2 encryption (never ever use WEP and, preferably, regular WPA)
use your home computers/printers/tablets/phones on the 5 SSID network and everything else on the 2.4 SSID network (to keep potential hackers away from your 5 SSID network devices)
regularly update your router firmware if needed
you can also use your guest 2.4 & 5 SSID networks to further isolate potentially risky devices from another, e.g. put IoT devices on guest 2.4 SSID network, put your guest's devices on the guest 5 SSID network, etc
set a schedule in your router to reboot itself once a week during the night
turn off UPnP and WPS in your router

 

[Texas Proud]

As a piece of advice - many routers/mesh systems have 2 wifi logins. One is called “guest”, etc. Many of the newer ones, have auto selection for 2.4/5 on each wifi. I have found that this makes many devices/connections unstable.

I have made one of them 2.4 only, and the other 5 only. All of the smart home automation, etc was connected to the 2.4.

Yes, this is the problem... same connection for both speeds... cannot choose which one... I have not seen how to make the speeds independent... if so, I could connect these things to the 2.4 and hope it works..

 

[Texas Proud]

I had the same issue when I replaced my old sprinkler controller with a smart one and had a terrible time getting it to connect to the 2.4 SSID (new controller didn't see the 5 SSID). It was a distance issue from where it was mounted in the garage to the other side of the house where the router was located. Only way I got this resolved was to replace the tp-link router with two Eero mesh routers, placing the 2nd eero near the garage. I was shocked at how much better my WIFI range was with the Eero's. I was able to connect to my pixel to my WIFI 5 SSID network at the community mailbox 4 houses away from mine.

Some things consider:
buy your own cable modem (DOCSIS 3.1 compatible) and a separate router (WIFI 6/6E compatible)
turn off "auto-connect" on your router so you have to manually select to connect to either the 2.4 or 5 SSIDs on your devices
make sure you SSIDs are configured to use at least WPA2 encryption (never ever use WEP and, preferably, regular WPA)
use your home computers/printers/tablets/phones on the 5 SSID network and everything else on the 2.4 SSID network (to keep potential hackers away from your 5 SSID network devices)
regularly update your router firmware if needed
you can also use your guest 2.4 & 5 SSID networks to further isolate potentially risky devices from another, e.g. put IoT devices on guest 2.4 SSID network, put your guest's devices on the guest 5 SSID network, etc
set a schedule in your router to reboot itself once a week during the night
turn off UPnP and WPS in your router

My controller does connect to the wifi at times... I do not believe it is a signal issue as I have taken a tablet out there and it shows a good signal...


Will take a look at this... thanks.

 

[retire48in2018]

Yes, this is the problem... same connection for both speeds... cannot choose which one... I have not seen how to make the speeds independent... if so, I could connect these things to the 2.4 and hope it works..

I had to go into the settings of the router on the app to select only allowing 1 band not both

 

[Sunset]

Yes, this is the problem... same connection for both speeds... cannot choose which one... I have not seen how to make the speeds independent... if so, I could connect these things to the 2.4 and hope it works..

Can you not give each frequency it's own SSID and password ?
That way devices can only connect to whichever they have the SSID and password for.

 

[Jimmie]

My controller does connect to the wifi at times... I do not believe it is a signal issue as I have taken a tablet out there and it shows a good signal...


Will take a look at this... thanks.

The radio in the sprinkler controller will not be near as good quality as the radio in your tablet. You might consider a wifi range extender also as a first solution. Plug into outlets inside the house near your controller.